


The “Unmarried" Queen – Deficiencies in Númenórean Scholarship

by Sath



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Academia, Bad Archival Practices, F/F, Historical chronicle, Same-Sex Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-14 11:30:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5742085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sath/pseuds/Sath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rosie Cotton and Samwise Gamgee's granddaughter, a scholar of short stature and lofty goals, finds an earth-shattering document being used to steady a table leg in Minas Tirith.</p><p>Excerpted from Fíriel Fairbairn’s <i>Bias and Absence: Women in Historical Chronicles</i>. Essay was originally published in the 6th issue of the <i>Inter-kingdom Friendship Studies Society.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The “Unmarried" Queen – Deficiencies in Númenórean Scholarship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elleth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elleth/gifts).



As I have mentioned in previous chapters, scholars have been all too willing to leave the past alone whenever it confirms their own feelings on “what went on.” It is much in the nature of hobbits to pry into the doings of their neighbours, but never to ask about what happened beyond our own beloved Shire. I thought Men were immune to this—imagine my disappointment when I visited the great library in Minas Tirith and received only a shrug when I asked if there were any Númenórean historical texts beyond Elendil’s _Akallâbeth_ and the fragmentary Line of Elros! But I would not be dissuaded by the indifference of Men to the fascinating historical tradition of the Ruling Queens, and convinced the head librarian to allow me full access to the collection. I think he was too bemused by my stature and forcefulness to argue with me.

I found what I wanted after many days of searching. The Gondorians have taken to filing their books under busts of Gondorian rulers, which would have been reasonable enough, if it were not for the fact that most of the busts have no names. I do not know the nose of Tarondor from the chin of Narmacil, and neither did any of the little boys left to organize the whole absurd system.

But as luck would have it, I found a wondrous document used to prop up a wobbly table leg. The book’s cover was contemporary, and so the _dedicated_ scholars of Gondor never bothered to check if the book had simply been re-covered. The first few pages were old bills of lading from Vinyalondë, which would be a startling find in and of itself, were I at all interested in Second Age economics. I nearly shoved the book back under the table leg myself! As I turned the book over in my hand, a dozen or so loose pages fell out. At first, I could not believe what I was reading. Then, I will admit that I jumped and shouted for joy. Just as I thought, there is more to Númenórean scholarship than the meagre amount of accepted ‘canon’ would suggest. And while I cannot—not yet—provide proof that much of the historical record was intentionally suppressed, the sheer uniqueness of my find must testify to the possibility.

The document was an account of the life of Tar-Telperiën, who ruled from S.A. 1556 to S.A. 1731. Prior to my discovery, all we had were two sentences in the "Line of Elros" _:_ “She was the second Ruling Queen of Númenor. She was long-lived (for the women of the Númenóreans had the longer life, or laid down their lives less easily), and she would wed with no man.” If she is discussed at all in the academic literature, it is merely noted that she was the first to hold the sceptre until the year of her death, the second ruling queen, and that she was unmarried.

This last ‘fact,’ it turns out, was untrue. Tar-Telperiën was married—to another woman. Same-sex relationships have been the subject of much recent academic debate, particularly in the burgeoning field of Friendship Studies. It has been an uphill road for friendship scholars to be taken seriously; why, I was once accused of forging documents, although it is much more common to be simply dismissed as ‘disrespecting the historical record.’  

The text of _The Silver Chronicle_ is written shakily and leans more and more to the left, matching exactly with the ‘Tremulous Hand of Westernesse,’ who produced several manuscripts of _The Mariner’s Wife_ which have been definitely dated to the first hundred years of the Third Age. The historicity of _The Silver Chronicle_ is beyond the doubts of even the most traditionalist scholar.  

 _The Silver Chronicle_ opens with a noteworthy episode in Telperiën’s youth. Her father, Tar-Súrion, favoured her younger brother Isilmo to inherit, but due to Númenórean law, Telperiën was the rightful heir. When Telperiën was a mere eighty years of age, she was kidnapped by agents of her own father, who attempted to force her to cede her right to the throne, just as the elder sisters of Tar-Súrion had done. Telperiën refused. This would have been the end for Tar-Telperiën’s two sentences in the "Line of Elros" had not a daring rescue of the future queen been organized by a corsair known only as the She-wolf of Umbar. It is possible that the corsair had not originally intended to save the queen at all, but was convinced that the greater gain would have been the support of a future queen, rather than a refused ransom for an unwanted daughter.

Telperiën’s political savvy turned the kidnapping to her own advantage. She remained at sea until the She-wolf received a generous payment for her return—otherwise, she would let it be widely known that Tar-Súrion had been willing to commit parricide. Most of the sum paid by Tar-Súrion was distributed to the people of Armenelos, ensuring their loyalty to Telperiën. Isilmo, it is said, went to sea in S.A. 1401 and was never seen again. His infant son, the future Tar-Minastir, was adopted into Telperiën’s household.

Not all of _The Silver Chronicle_ is as exciting as her rescue by an Umbarian pirate. Tar-Telperiën was an extremely capable ruler, who built up the navy after Tar-Ancalimë’s policies had left it to stagnate. In fact, Telperiën showed a great love of the sea, unique among the Ruling Queens.

Her marriage was recorded as taking place in the year S.A. 1408. Sadly, the trend of unnamed wives holds as true for Telperiën as it did for all too many women in the historical records, and we do not know the name of her beloved. What we do know is that the wedding took place in the month of Lótessë, when "the sun shone kindly on the two maidens, who were to have great joy of each other for all their years together. Only one thing marred the union of Telperiën, and that was, like Aldarion and Erendis, that their allotment of years were not equal." There is another clue as to the identity of Telperiën's wife, and that is the nature of the gifts given to the queen at the wedding feast. While it is traditional for a Númenórean woman to receive fruiting trees and fine horses on her wedding day, Telperiën was instead given a boat, a ceremonial sword, and “enough Umbarian spices to sate the island for a full year.” Although I cannot say with utter surety that Telperiën married the She-wolf of Umbar, it is certainly arguable that she did. This union, in addition to shaking the foundations of what we thought we knew about Númenórean marriage, also calls into question the exact nature of relations between Númenór and Umbar itself, and whether that relationship had always been colonial.

 _The Silver Chronicle_ is incomplete, and cuts off in the middle of Telperiën’s rule. A translated and annotated edition of the _Chronicle_ is soon to be published under the imprint of the Northern Kingdom Friendship Studies Society. I hope that the discovery of this extraordinary document will motivate other scholars not to accept the paucity of the historical record at face value, for there are bound to be other paradigm-shattering texts in queerer places than under a Gondorian table leg.

**Author's Note:**

> For other works in the field of Friendship Studies, see [“Close in Friendship”: Homosocial Relationships in the First Age ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5454257) and [An Enquiry into the Matter of Gilmith of Dol Amroth](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5686729).
> 
> Sadly, I cannot claim credit for most of the bad archival practices - in this, history was my guide. The organization of books by bust was based upon the [library](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_library) of Sir Robert Cotton. Sir Robert organized is many rare manuscripts by the busts of Roman emperors. Unsurprisingly, is filing system was not adopted elsewhere. His library also caught fire in 1731, perhaps in no small part due to the fact that it was located in a place called Ashburnham House. To this day, the _Beowulf_ manuscript smells like BBQ.
> 
> The 'Tremulous Hand of Westernesse' was based upon the [Tremulous Hand of Worcester](Tremulous%20Hand%20of%20Worcester), a 13th century English monk.


End file.
